For those that have already made the switch to driving electric, we were interested to hear how much drivers have saved. So we undertook a recent survey to find out more.

We asked our Facebook followers: “If you currently own an electric car, approximately how much have you save on petrol and maintenance per annum? Would you say under $1,000, between $1,000-$2,000, or $2,000+ ?”

The Results

Well, nothing less than startling! We found that majority of EV owners are saving $2,000-3000 per year on their vehicle expenses. One EV owner stated, “from $80 a week for petrol to $12 a week for electricity. No oil changes, oil filters, spark plugs or tune-ups, so saving about $3,000 a year.”

ICE vs EV

So this is where the total cost of ownership of an electric vehicle becomes much more compelling when compared with an ICE’d vehicle. Corporates and especially IT professionals, understand the concepts of ‘TCO’. Private buyers, however, all too often only look at the sticker price and not the run cost + the depreciation of the vehicle.

A really great example is an ‘imaginary’ Jamaican buyer looking for a cheap, nearly new, hatchback. Both Kia and Hyundai sell reliable and relatively inexpensive hatchbacks from around $23,000. The new 2018 Nissan LEAF will retail for around $35,000. If a driver is saving $3,000 a year in running costs by driving the electric LEAF, then after five years the total cost will be far less than the petrol engined car. Depreciation in this segment of EVs is typically much less too.

Cumulative Run Costs

The graph below illustrates the cumulative run costs, over a 5-year period, for both the 2018 Nissan LEAF and 2018 Hyundai i30.

What’s missing from the picture here is maintenance and running costs beyond year 5. The ICE vehicle will more than likely require unplanned and potentially expensive maintenance (think Ford DSG and VW Mechatronic debacle). And of course, there will be no warranties in place. The EV may suffer battery degradation over time as the miles mount, but replacement battery packs and even individual cells will become more accessible and cost-effective over time. Many manufacturers already offer subsidised battery replacement for their cars.

And as most EV owners already know, the electric vehicles appear to last much longer than the petrol or diesel equivalents too.

So what do you think? Should private buyers consider the total cost of ownership when they go car shopping? If you don’t currently own an electric vehicle would overall cost convince you to make the switch?

On Tuesday 28th May 2018, I attended the Climate Councils – Cities Power Partnership Roundtable, hosted by Bathurst City Council, held at the spiritual home of motorsport in Australia. Mount Panorama, Bathurst. This was attended by councils near and far who are also members of the Climate Councils – Cities Power Partnership. This is a program to link like-minded councils together to share success stories, ideas, and the power to bulk purchase.

Mount Panorama Motorsports Track

As this was being hosted at Mount Panorama, several EVs were on hand to take the attendees for a lap of the iconic street circuit, before the formalities of the day started. For me, it was his first time visiting the track and also the first time in a Tesla Model X, which is a little bigger than my current Nissan Leaf!

First time in a Tesla Model X & Outlander PHEV

The speakers at the roundtable were from the Climate Council, ACT Government, NRMA and Bathurst City Council. Topics were focused around:

EV adoption

How and why the ACT Government nominated to switch to 100% Zero Emission Fleet by 2023

NRMA’s 40 rapid chargers across the state of NSW – which should service 90% of the state in the initial uptake of EVs, and;

What sustainability plans are for EV charging deployment in Bathurst

One of the best parts of the day, by far, was a robust conversation that took over the second half of the roundtable which everyone participated in. Overall, it went to show that councils who can see the future contains Zero Emission Vehicles, that are powered by renewables they produce, are the ones positioning themselves for the future.

Mount Panorama, Bathurst

The Roads Minister for the ACT Government also invited everyone in the room to consider joining them in a BULK fleet agreement. To drive down the cost, increase the volume of vehicles on the roads, and create a future second-hand EV market. For more details on this please email climatechange@act.gov.au.

Footnote

Paul’s background is rooted in historic car racing and after purchasing his Nissan Leaf in 2016. This enabled him to get involved in lobbying the SA Government, to secure the Formula E for the past 18 months. He is also the co-leader of the All Electric Formula E Racing for Adelaide.

For a long, while now Bass Coast (and specifically Phillip Island) has been just out of reach for electric vehicles like the LEAF and the i3. But not anymore! Sometimes councils are unwilling or unable to deploy publicly available charging infrastructure, so we partnered with a local business to deploy a publicly accessible (and free to use) electric vehicle charging point right in the centre of Koo Wee Rup.

Koo Wee Rup

Koo Wee Rup has a growing population of over 3,500 (census 2016). When stopping in town, a must do is to grab a pie from the local bakery or get among the locals at the Royal Hotel. Over the years, the local supermarket and surrounding stores have had modern facelifts to contrast to older, yet well-maintained buildings to tailor more effectively to your stay.

The Installation

The install was first discussed back in February when Malcolm Brown, who had little knowledge about EVs or its infrastructure, gave us a call in a bid to understand how it all works. Malcolm doesn’t own an EV himself but operates as an environmental consultant, so he could, therefore, recognise the benefits of such infrastructure. Malcolm’s idea was to install an EV charger to attract EV owners who use the Koo Wee Rup Bypass to visit places like local wineries or en route to Phillip Island.

The charger is already proving to be popular and gives EV owners the opportunity to patronise the local businesses and grab a coffee and some food. We regularly partner with local businesses and the community to make charging facilities more widespread and accessible. We do this because we believe electric vehicles are better for the environment and well, just better overall!

So if you own (or know of) a business that would like to attract new customers and instantly create a point of difference (for very little outlay), get in touch! Furthermore, ask about how EVolution may subsidise the hardware and installation!